89 posts categorized "David Ferrer"

April 25, 2011

Rafa played Daveed in the final. Redux. Rafa beat Daveed in straight sets. Redux. Rafa further solidified that he is a hoss on clay. Redux.

I wish I could say it was all entertaining but inevitability just isn't my brand of entertainment. But, you know, carry on, Rafa. It's not like I'm rooting against you. I'm just kinda not so much paying attention to you right now.

April 17, 2011

It's kind of like being the Count of Monte Cristo. But with fewer sandwiches.

Something tells me that with Rafa, the seventh one feels just as good as the first one. A day after dropping a set to a cortisoned Andy Murray (the first set he's dropped on clay in over a year, I believe), Rafa clinched his seventh straight Monte Carlo title in straight sets (64 75) over Daveed. And so the streak continues.

The last time Rafa lost in Monte Carlo he was 16 years old and Roger hadn't won a Slam. Ridiculous.

As of right now, Rafa's planning to play Barcelona, a place where he has a 25-match win streak with five straight titles until he opted to skip it last year. Do we think this is a good idea? I'm just wondering aloud here. Rafa's been complaining about being tired since Miami and he was noting his increased fatigue level this week as well. The good news is that he's still, like, winning without being at his best. The bad news is, well...he hasn't been at his best.

March 13, 2011

What a weekend of woe. Not just woe, but unexpected woe. Woe that you kind really didn't see coming until you turned the corner and someone shoved a spoon in your eye.

Like...what?

Let's start with this guy. He not only lost but he lost in straight sets to DONALD YOUNG. DONALD YOUNG!!! For the second straight year I didn't even bother watching the match, opting to hang out at the new and AMAZING Corona tent, assuming that my super fuzzy-haired boyfriend would get the job done over the talented but prone to imploding DYoung. So imagine my surprise when I turned to watch the big screen to see DY holding AT LOVE. Against one of the best returners in the game who happens to be my reason for tennis existence.

Speaking of people who have not been all that fantastic after losing a Grand Slam final, HAI NAILS.

She was upset by Peng 46 63 63. All credit to Racquet Required. She totally called the upset on Twitter when the draw came out and I didn't think it was a bad call. Peng hasn't had the results but she's been right there in her matches and playing quite well.

Sorry, Indian Wells economy. You won't be seeing the Li credit card this year.

Here's the thing. If we learned anything from last year's Ana/Montreal fiasco it's that denying someone a wildcard kind of lights a fire and virtually guarantees that they will make you look like a fucking moron. Ana got hosed by Montreal and went on to the semis of Cincy.

SVETA WHAT THE FUCK WORD??? McHale??? SNOOKI??? I mean, what is that about? I know, I know. It's Sveta. She can rock your world one night and show up the next holding a bag of cold Taco Bell, smelling like piss, and slurring her words. But COME. ON.

And then there's this guy going down to Malisse in straights, 76(6) 75. It's not like I should be shocked. Jo hasn't been playing all that great and he's coming off of injury. But I WANT TO SEE SHIRTLESS JO PRACTICING. If it's any consolation I cardigan'd Jo at the bar later that night. He was looking delicious in his ash grey cardigan, jeans, and white kicks. He also seemed to have a lady friend.

February 28, 2011

And rounding out the weekend of awesomeness, Daveed cemented his spot in "the Conversation" taking out the en fuego Nico (who was going for his third straight title on the red dirt) in three sets to successfully defend his title in Acapulco. This is definitely Daveed's best start to a season. We all know the dude's a workhorse. It's so great to see him play with the confidence, too, coming out on the better side of two tough three setters this week.

January 28, 2011

Andy Murray made it a point to call out the media's complete lack of respect for David Ferrer prior to this match. "I did one hour of press after my match and didn't get one question about Ferrer. The guy's #7 in the world." He has a point. While I've generally been ignorning much of what's been written down here (just so my thoughts don't get influenced too much), I did read a few preview articles for this match and yeah, it seems like a lot of folks were writing Moose into the finals.

Anyone who watches Daveed play knows how dangerous he can be, and given Andy's game, how tough a matchup this was. Daveed came out on fire. He was moving well and getting the ball deep on Andy, and while Andy wasn't playing poorly, Daveed seemed completely in control. They would grind each other through numerous 40+ shot rallies throughout the match, slicing, dicing, and hitting corners at will. There was tremendous shotmaking in this match. The key in the first set was Daveed's return of serve. Andy would actually break and go up 4-3, only to get broken two straight times to lose the set 6-4.

The second set started the same, with Daveed breaking again in Andy's first service game. But Andy finally (he's about as smart sometimes as he is cute) figured out that he wasn't going to be able to out-baseline Daveed. So he increased his aggression, hugging the baseline, getting to the net, and hitting out more. He would save a set point at 5-4, admitting later that he had no idea it was a set point until he held and the umpire called the score at 5-5. Like I said...he ain't that bright.

Moose would serve for the set and get broken. I blame Caro, who decided to sit in the MooseBox for the match. That's some bad mojo. STOP COPYING ANA. IT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. But once the set went into a breaker Andy reeled off six straight points before finally taking the set 7-2 in the break.

Boyfriend would roll through the third set, taking it (and, we all thought, Daveed's spirit) 6-1, and he flew out of the gates to a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Then all hell broke loose as Daveed got his second wind and Andy lost his mind (LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT THAT MISSED OVERHEAD DUCK AT 3-3). But they battled to a tiebreak, and since Daveed was 0-10 in tiebreaks at Melbourne Park, we pretty know how that went.

And so, for those of us who actually do get sick of Fedal hype and chatter, we get our dream final. Andy vs. Nole with a lot on the line. They've played each other since they were 13, Nole leads the H2H, Andy won the last three, but they haven't played each other for over two years. So basically, history is unreliable here. Nole is clearly the form player and rightfully the favorite. I don't know...a Moose win would be an incredible feat here under the circumstances. He just hasn't looked as impressive as Nole.

Plus Nole's got Ana in his box. I mean, you can't beat that. You LITERALLY cannot beat that. Can I tap out Caro and fly in Robbie? I'll pay for the flight and everything. That would at least give Pale Force One a fighting chance. Their tans are about even.

Either way, it's going to be great. I really really can't wait and I know I'll be happy either way.

January 26, 2011

The quest is over. It wasn't supposed to end with Rafa limping, on the verge of tears, taking a beatdown out of respect for his friend and the game he loves. But that's how it ended and I think everyone's still trying to get their head around this one. It's a somber mood around these parts.

One year to the day of his 2010 quarterfinal retirement to Moose, Rafa picked up a hamstring injury during the epic 20+ minute second game of the match, and it was all but lost from them on. He would leave the court for evaluation and taping and emerge a completely different player. You know how Rafa makes 99.9% of his opponents look a step slow and completely ineffective?

That's what Rafa looked like tonight against Daveed, who, to his credit, absolutely brought his A-game and really took it to Rafa. Aside from the disappointment that Rafa got injured and lost, it was even more of a bummer that we couldn't see these two gladiators go toe-to-toe for a full match. The way Daveed played today he would have had a real chance to beat even a healthy Rafa. He was aggressive, tactically perfect, and absolutely ruthless despite his look of concern for his friend.

Rafa didn't roll over after the injury. Being the competitive beast that he is, he willed himself back into the first set and mounted a a legitimate challenge, fighting from a break down to even the set. But Daveed held his nerve to break back and eventually take it. From there, the result seemed inevitable, especially after the match had to be stopped for 10 minutes in the second set for the Australia Day fireworks. Rafa looked understandably annoyed when he got the news and disappeared to get some medical treatment during the stoppage. But sore muscles get cold and he wasn't the same player when he came back.

Once Daveed clinched the second set 62, I think everyone watching the match was watching Rafa, waiting for him to throw in the towel. But out of respect for Daveed, the crowd, and the game itself, he kept going, accepting his fate and his beatdown. "I hate the retirements, so this wasn't the day. I did last year. I hate that moment. I didn't want to repeat that."

It was a slow and painful death for the champ, who hung his head on the changeovers and finally had to wipe away tears when the reality of the moment, that his body was failing him on this once-in-a-lifetime quest, settled in. It was really hard to watch. It's amazing how quickly Rafa can go from looking like a seemingly invincible sportsman, to a lonely little boy who looks lost. The too-big-for-him shirt didn't help matters.

After the match, Rafa looked absolutely gutted as he tried to put on a brave face in front of the press. I was standing in the back of the room but from what I could see it looked like he struggled a few times to keep his composure. He made it clear that he didn't want to take anything away from Daveed and didn't want to talk about the injury. He felt fantastic coming into the match and didn't know any details about his injury.

"I can say nothing about the injury. Seriously, I would prefer don't talk a lot about the injury. Tonight, first of all, I don't know nothing. Second thing, for respect to the winner and to a friend, I prefer to talk about the match. I think he played at a very high level. I just congratulate him and wish him all the best for the semifinal."

"For me is difficult come here and speak about [the injury]. In Doha I wasn't healthy. Today I have another problem. Seems like I always have problems when I lose, and I don't want to have this image, no? I prefer don't talk about that today. If you can respect that, will be a very nice thing for me. Thank you."

"I think I am very, very lucky sportsman about what happened in my career. And I have to accept the fantastic moments that I had during a lot of years with the same calm that when I have problems. And if I am ready to accept both things with I think let's say everything the same, I going to be able to come back and play my best tennis another time."

"My expectations, I said before the tournament, I said before the year start, is enjoy every day and practice hard every day with same illusion, humble and motivation that I did all my career. So that's my principal goal, in general, no? I lost in quarterfinals today. We'll see what's happen in next tournament. I'll work hard to be ready."

"I love playing tennis. I love the competition. And I love, in general, the hard moments because you are ready to change the situation working hard, working every day with a goal and with illusion."

November 21, 2010

But that'll be 0-11 against Fed. Daveed didn't hold serve until the second set and fought valiantly. He even had three game points when Fed was serving for the match. But Fed was able to summon some big serves when he needed them and finally closed out the match. He'll face Moose on Tuesday (!!!).

November 20, 2010

This "dead week" in between Paris and the WTFs is such a waste. You know the players want to get this over with, the fans want to get this over with, everyone wants to get this over with except for the Paris tourney director, who surely knows that if the WTFs were held immediately after his tournament, everybody be losin' in the first round of Bercy.

But seriously, how dumb has this been? We don't need two days of suited photo-ops. I don't need to see pictures of Andy Murray trying to remember if he zipped his fly while in deep conversation with David Cameron. Eliminate the dead week! All the teasing is all fine and dandy at other parts of the season, but right now it's just making me impatient, annoyed, and really, I would just rather roll over and go to sleep.

All this is to say, thank the Lawd that play finally begins tomorrow. Group B, a.k.a. "Group Love/Hate", kicks off play at 7 a.m. EST.

The Moose will take on the man who supplanted him at #4. Swede vs. Scot. Paris vs. Shanghai. Hitter vs. Homeboy. Viking vs. Ginger. I could go on. But I'll stop.

For no other reason than the fact that Moose is more well-rested, and because I love him unconditionally, I'll tap Andy.

November 05, 2010

Daveed bounced Potito Head and Sod took Gael by the scruff of the neck and tossed him out of Valencia to set up a juicy semifinal. Daveed is still playing for a spot in London and this is his home tournament, in which he has a monetary interest. So methinks he'll take the court pretty motivated.

October 11, 2010

Nole beats Daveed in straights to successfully defends his Beijing title and collects an awesome champagne bucket and stuffed...animal (?) to add to his collection. Surprisingly, this is only his second title of the year. But he's now 9-0 at the China Open and he clinched his spot at the London Championships this week.

October 02, 2010

Misha must feel like he's got a new lease on life after surving that tragic bird attack. He's continuing his fantastic year by reaching the finals of Kuala Lumpur and will face Golubev, who's has already taken out Sod and Daveed to book his spot.

September 09, 2010

In case you missed it. I totally thought the commentator was going to say "What. The. Fuck." Because seriously, that's what I said.

I unfortunately missed the last few sets of the match because I had to see a Corgi about a choke. But what an amazing win for Fer, to come back from two sets down, a break down in the 5th, and 4-1 in the tiebreak, to pull off the win. Totally gutted for Daveed, though. He worked so hard and played so damn well. It's a shame all the Spaniards had to beat up on each other to get through.

Excited for tonight's match. Here's hoping Fer didn't blow his load too early and it's a competitive one. Lord knows I still watch their AO09 clash.

Mainly because DonkeyGrooming forces me to. Ok, she bribes me with beer and refuses to drive me home until I watch. It's like...the same.

September 07, 2010

There are still five Spaniards into the Round of 16 (there were six but Montanes lost to Sod). Unfortunately, four of them have to play each other in the next round: Rafa vs. Feli, Fer vs. Daveed. Quit dominating all the sports, you swarthy sexy bastards. It's unfair to all the pasty ugly people who lose early in Grand Slams despite getting all the hype.

August 16, 2010

So my first full day at the [Wait, It A Bank? A Mortgage Company? In The Southwest?] Open kicked off with a little bit of Ernie action. I was actually watching Rafa when I saw some puff of hair bopping along on the court behind him. Sure enough, some Latvian homeless man had jumped the fence to go for a light hit with Mischa.

Just a quick note about the tournament venue: It's awesome. I really really mean that and I've been to my share of big and small tourneys. The event is really well-organized, the staff have been more than friendly, and the grounds are spacious enough so that you don't feel overwhelmed by crowds, but small enough so that you can walk them without packing a lunch. We'll see if this assessment holds up as crowds grow over the week but right now, I'm impressed. This has the potential to be an amazing joint event next year.

After Ernie/Rafa, it was off to sit with my good buddy DonkeyGrooming to watch a shirtless Fernando practice for nearly two hours. It actually ended up being pretty fun.

He was in a pissy mood for most of his practice session but started to
lighten up in the last 20 minutes, chatting with the crowd, trash
talking with his hitting partner, and trying to catch returns in his
pocket.

A smiley Fernando is the best kind of Fernando. Now if only we can get him to cut that damn hair.

In the end, the two hours of FerWatching was worth it. Not only was he looking fine he also stopped for a picture with DG. And I must say, the picture is awesome. He's smiling, she's smiling, everyone was happy.

Except for me. I needed some shade (though I have to give a shout out to the weather gods because it was damn near perfect today compared to the searing heat and humidity of yesterday), some spaghetti topped with chili, cheese, and onions, and a beer. OH YES, A BEER.

I did sneak off for a few minutes of Fernando's tan-fest to catch me some Gilles. And once again, I was reminded how much I adore him. Uh...please ignore that evil blue blob in the background. I sure did.

Unfortuntately, because of my much needed 45 minutes of cool down, this is all that I saw of Pico today. He to de Bakker. Here's hoping he sticks around and hits the practice courts tomorrow. I promise I'll be on it.

Then it was off to see some Ferru, who had his hands full with the always confusing Alexander Dolgopolov. First of all, Dolgo's got really bad subcutaneous acne. I'm sorry, I don't like talking about it, but it's relevant insofar as I find him really difficult to watch. And for whatever reason it actually looks worse in person. Second, he's got a crazy serve that is literally a "throw it up and hit it hard" motion that clocks him 115-120mph. I have no idea how he gets that power with such limited motion.

Third, I do not know why he insists on wearing a telephone cord when he plays.

Anywho, Daveed pulled off the win in three sets, which meant that a rather craptastic day of tennis (match-wise) ended on a high note.

A-Rod's playing right now. Um...we all know how I feel about that. I'm going back to the hotel and getting my drank on.

August 10, 2010

It took him three sets, but Nalby was able to knock out the always game Daveeed to keep his momentum going. And with Nalby, that's a lot of momentum. Is it weird that I want to see him do well in Toronto and then lose early or pull out of Cincy? I want a healthy and hungry Nalby in New York. Well, like, hungry in a tennis way.

Sod survived the [insert appropriate adjective here] Ernie, who could not fucking convert a break point in the second set to save his life. He had so many opportunities to get up break early and just couldn't. So Sod won. And Gay God cried.

And Tomas won. But more importantly, I LOVE his summer kit. Pop that collar, Tommy.

July 07, 2010

The Rafa-less Armada is in France awaiting their Davis Cup tie. I don't think they have tennis on the brain quite yet.

So cute. Tip of the cap to you, Spain. You were the better team.

No word on whether Rafa's going to hop a plane for the final. But you'd be an idiot to bet against it. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. That said, it'd be kind of a dick move considering the rest of the Armada can't go and the only reason Rafa could go is that he's skipping the tie.

May 29, 2010

A really rough day for the Armada, as JCF lost in five to Robbie "Wait, You're American?" Ginepri, and Daveed bounced in straights by DoucheStamp, who makes the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time of his 10-year career. And Fernando was pushed to five sets for four hours by PEHK.

I mean...JCF and Daveed are out? OUT???

But...WHY???

A-Rod must be ordering a hit at T-Gabs seeing a how his portion of the draw just got ridiculously cake.

April 21, 2010

The Armada did their thing again, posing for wet and shirtless for Spanish Elle.

What can we conclude?

(1) The Armada is hot.

(2) Jeans > Sarongs. I mean, I know we call him Florence but putting him in a skirt was just wrong.

(3) As much as anyone with a brain hates Abercrombie, we have to thank them for introducing the hip-crack to the world. Because seriously, it is a glorious thing.

I honestly don't know what to make of this picture. All I know is that the sarong should not be there. And I don't even mean that in a "OOH! LET'S LOOK AT NEKKID FER!" way. It is wet, it is clingy, it is see through, and it is gross.

Even Tommy's pointing and laughing.

It's really the pink flops that elevate this picture from "Daveed contemplates the meaning of life" to "Shit. What the hell happened last night..." awesomeness.

March 31, 2010

Did I mention I have a thing for arms? Specifically forearms? Well I do. And this is like porn for me.

Rafa took out his good buddy Daveed, but not without a fight. Daveed BROUGHT IT for that first set, playing well enough to deserve it. But he played a crap tiebreaker and walked away a set down. From there he just fell away and Rafa drove the stake into him.

Seriously, how hot is it in Miami? I get exhausted just flipping through the pics.

Davis Cup once again did not disappoint. There was drama, there was passion, and there was national pride. But most importantly there were hot sweaty dudes rubbing up on each other. Like all over the world. On behalf of all the women in the world who are currently celebrating Woman's Herstory Month (see what I did there?), I say "thank you."

Spain v Switzerland 4 - 1

A blockbuster tie on paper, except that, well, it wasn't really. Spain played without Rafa, Fer, Feli, and JCF, and Switzerland claimed they were short a player. I don't know what they're talking about but the Switz were heaping their hopes on the spittle-strewn shoulders of newly daddied Stan.

In the end it was a true team effort as Daveed won his first rubber, Marcel and Tommy teamed up to take the doubles, and Daveed came back on Sunday to take his second rubber. Vamos, Spain.

France v Germany 4 - 1

Look at that. That is the definition of teamy. All the Frenchies were on hand to support each other as France demolished Germany 4-1, clinching the tie with the doubles win on Saturday. Ok, not all the Frenchies were there. But I don't think Guy wanted Jeremy's bad mojo anyway, so thanks for staying away, Jerms.

Russia v India 3 - 2

Russia's into the quarters over India as Mischa clinched it in the fourth rubber. Tough couple of days for Somdev, who couldn't convert either of his matches. That was a pretty monumental task anyway.

Sweden v Argentina 2 - 3

Well done to you, Argies and welcome back Nalby! What a way to make a splash. Dude saved the Baby Blues by helping with the doubles win and then winning the decisive 5th tie. Thank god he did. I'd much rather see Nalby/Elf in the DC quarters than Sod and his merry band of Swedes.

Way to make it interesting, guys. One of the BryBros gets food poisoning from some chicken curry, has to pull out of doubles, eyebrows are raised, and then Nole and Halpert play a 4+ hour five setter, which Nole wins to clinch the tie. Huge win for Nole and the Serbs, but for me, the star of this tie was Johnny Isner. In his first DC tie the kid jumps in to play doubles with the non-tummy-afflicted BryBro to beat Nenad and Janko. Then he comes back the next day and battles on clay, his worst surface, in front of a hostile crowd to force the world #2 into a five setter that Nole narrowly wins, 6-4.

So yes, congrats to Serbia. Seriously, you know how stoked I am for you guys. But can I please get a standing slow-clap for Halpert? He showed so much heart this weekend.

Belgium v Czech Republic 1 - 4

This one goes into the Croatia/Ecuador category. Moving on.

Chile v Israel 2 - 1

This one's still going with Chile one win away from clinching the tie after they dropped the doubles today. Go get it, Gonzo. And God bless.

March 01, 2010

Contrary to what Slate and Business Week might tell you, the events of this weekend (namely, Ernie and Kleybs winning) did not send the Earth off its axis*. What's that? You want proof? I got better than proof.

I got proofs:

Congrats to Nole, Vee, and Daveed for their tourney wins. Why can't we get a picture of Nole captaining his new boat on the open seas as Venus lounges in her sombrero and a shirtless Daveed cuts up some pears. I don't see why that's a lot to ask.

*Thoughts and prayers to the people in Chile. I've only been through a 20 second 6.9 quake in 1989, and that alone caused bridges and buildings to collapse in San Francisco. I'm not a skilled enough writer to adequately articulate how much this sucks, so I'll just leave it at that. It sucks.

January 02, 2010

Oh God, I don't even have the energy to deal with it. Round about 2-3 months ago, all anyone could talk about was Rafa's precipitous decline and how all the injuries and one bad year at the age of 23 spelled doom, which seemed obviously idiotic then and is looking more idiotic by the second. Fuck, I'm not even a RafaKAD, or anything like it, and I'm so happy he's playing well just so I don't have to read as much stupid crap about how Rafa is finito.

That trophy is oddly intriguing.

Other things of note happened in Abu Dhabi, too. Kolya lost to Ferrer, which is sad for Kolya (but not too sad, because apparently he had bad bronchitis), but good for Dah-veed, so that's nice in its way. The other big news was that Sod beat Roger on his 13th try (no one beats Robin Soderling 13 times in a row blah blah blah); Sod also played pretty well for parts of the final today. It'll be interesting to see what he does this Australian summer, seeing as he's not got a lot to defend, and seems to be playing at a whole different level than he was this time last year.

Still, even thought I'm one of the 8 people in the world (possibly counting his immediate family and girlfriend) who doesn't hate Robin, this picture kind of made me giggle.

December 04, 2009

Let's be real, I did *not* think he had it in him. Hobbling into Davis Cup, playing a streaking Steps, I just...really...didn't think he had a change here. He was already a shock pick by Costa to play this second rubber, which I chalked up to Costa feeding him to the wolves, assuming the loss, in order to rest Fer for tomorrow and possibly Sunday. And that's what it looked like after the first two sets, when Daveed was simply outclassed by Steps in the order of a 61 62 drubbing.

But Spain would not be denied. Steps started to play too cute and Daveed picked up his game. After he was able to take the third set, it really looked like it was going to turn around. And did it ever.

Daveed would gut out the next three sets, 64 64 86, after 4 hours. It was awesome. He needed this win in a major way.

Save the Cheerleader. Save the World.

Tough luck for the Czechs. Sex should have really closed this out. Doubt they can overcome a 0-2 deficit. Radek will have to rally to get up for tomorrow's must win doubles rubber.

December 03, 2009

I honestly don't know who I'm rooting for here but I think it's Spain, if for no other reason than that I want Rafa to end his season on a high note. Speaking of high notes...what's up with Feli's hair? Or Fer's for that matter.

That said, I'd be totally super duper happy for the Czechs if they win.

Spain comes into Davis Cup severely hobbled, both emotionally and physically. We all know Rafa's struggling, but Fernando also expended a crapload of energy at in London, and he's now injured. So much so that Costa has swapped in Daveed for singles, who we last saw withdraw from a match due to a hamstring injury. That's...disconcerting, though Costa has indicated that Fer might be tapped to play Sunday if needed. And have I mentioned Feli's hair?

The Czechs on the other hand come in very relaxed and high in confidence. Well, at least Steps is feeling confident. He had a great run to end the regular season. As for Tomas, you never know what you're going to get with him but I have to think he's going to be pretty relaxed here, which is worrisome if you're on Team Spain. If this tie were played in the Czech Republic, I'd be more worried for Tomas. But playing away in Spain? Something tells me the Czechs totally buy into the underdog mentality here.

As per usual in Davis Cup, doubles will be the key here. Rafa can't do this all himself. Despite the fact that Dlouhy/Hajek were officially tapped for the Czechs, unless they find themselves up 2-0 after the first day, expect Tomas and Steps to play dubs against Fer/Feli. I expect it'll be 1-1 after Friday, so whoever wins dubs will clearly be in the driving seat.

All this is to say, this is going to be a VERY interesting tie. I am REALLY worried for Spain.